The present invention relates to an assembly for magnetically suspending a bar of soap.
Traditional soap holders used in showers and bath tubs are metal, plastic, or ceramic ledges upon which a bar of soap is placed after use. Unfortunately, the bar of soap usually ends up melting or disintegrating in the water that remains in the ledge-type holder. Although some of these ledge-type holders have holes or other drainage apparatus, enough water remains to significantly decrease the life span of the bar of soap. These ledge-type holders also tend to be permanently attached to the wall of the shower or tub and thus cannot be used for travel. Instead, plastic soap boxes are used for travel that, like the ledge-type holders, do not have proper drainage.
Recognizing that a bar of soap would last longer if it was suspended, various embodiments of bars of soap attached to strings have been tried. One such combination shown in Needleman U.S. Pat. No. 3,519,568 is a rope soap in which two ends of a string are embedded in a bar of soap. Another such combination shown in Hokerk U.S. Pat. No. 2,099,484 is a soap with a horizontal opening or bore through which a flexible suspension member is threaded. Soaps suspended by strings have several problems. For example, since the bar of soap comes on the string, choices of brands of soap are limited. Another problem is the waste that is caused because, once the bar of soap is used up, the string is thrown away and another bar of soap and string must be purchased. Still another problem is the inability to adjust the length of the string to accommodate different desired heights. More specifically, if the string is too long, the only remedy is to tie a knot in the string and if the string is too short there is no remedy. Further, if the string is in the way, it cannot be removed at all. Finally, depending on the thickness of the string and the method in which it is attached to the bar of soap, significantly less soap may be available than is evident from the apparent size of the bar.
Another solution is to suspend the bar of soap in a water pervious bag. Ogilvie U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,759 discloses such a soap-holding bag. This invention has several advantages over rope soap such as the fact that any brand of bar of soap may be used and the bag may be reused. Also, the bar of soap may be removed from the bag during use or it may be used within the bag if so desired. However, the bag itself, because it is made of fabric, often requires cleaning. Also, before the bar of soap is dry, the weave of the fabric cuts into the bar of soap.
Soap holders that use magnetic forces to suspend a bar of soap have been suggested in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,472,391, 5,417,397, 3,552,705, and 4,207,975. In each of these patents a piece of metal or a magnet is pressed into or enclosed within a bar of soap. Either a wall-mounted arm or a molded housing has apparatus to attract the embedded metal or magnet so as to suspend the bar of soap. These devices have several problems. Like the ledge-type holders, they are not practical for traveling either because they are permanently attached to a wall or they are cumbersome. Also, since the arms and housings are generally metal, depending on what was under them when they fell, they would sink if they landed in water, damage a tub's ceramic surface, or bruise a toe. Finally, especially for the permanently wall-mounted arms, installation would be difficult and removal would be almost impossible if the device was no longer desired.